National Geographic channels Air Crash Investigation is one of my favourite shows. It often demonstrates how one thing usually doesn't cause a plane to crash, but a culmination of small mistakes and conditions that ultimately end in disaster.
I watched an episode the other night from a 2013 crash at San Francisco. There were runway improvements occurring so the airport electronic interface that communicates with the automation on the planes was not in service. The pilots basically needed to actually land the plane, a 777. The pilot had never flown without the auto-thrust control engaged, and he entered a combination of auto-pilot instructions that de-activated the auto-thrust control. On a clear day with excellent visibility, the pilot trusted that the plane would control the landing speed on approach. the plane came in too slow and lost lift and within sight of the runway, hit the seawall and catapulted across the runway. Miraculously, only 3 passengers died. The pilots did not actually know how to properly land the plane without the complete automation fully functioning!
I watched this thinking it was very similar to watching Pitt football. You know what is going to happen at the start of the show. The plane is going to crash. I watch the show to see how and why. And Pantherlair the day after constitutes the NTSB investigation into the incident.
So here's hoping to a safe take-off and landing for Pitt tomorrow. Gametime here is 3 AM on Sunday, so I will elect not to watch this one live.
I watched an episode the other night from a 2013 crash at San Francisco. There were runway improvements occurring so the airport electronic interface that communicates with the automation on the planes was not in service. The pilots basically needed to actually land the plane, a 777. The pilot had never flown without the auto-thrust control engaged, and he entered a combination of auto-pilot instructions that de-activated the auto-thrust control. On a clear day with excellent visibility, the pilot trusted that the plane would control the landing speed on approach. the plane came in too slow and lost lift and within sight of the runway, hit the seawall and catapulted across the runway. Miraculously, only 3 passengers died. The pilots did not actually know how to properly land the plane without the complete automation fully functioning!
I watched this thinking it was very similar to watching Pitt football. You know what is going to happen at the start of the show. The plane is going to crash. I watch the show to see how and why. And Pantherlair the day after constitutes the NTSB investigation into the incident.
So here's hoping to a safe take-off and landing for Pitt tomorrow. Gametime here is 3 AM on Sunday, so I will elect not to watch this one live.
